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It said: “Keane will be sadly missed by all her family and friends. She was our princess who dreamed of being Prime Minister. But failing that, a beautician.

“She loved her girlfriend and her days out shopping with lunches and all things girly. She recently attended her first under 18s disco and loved every second of it and was excited to be going to see One Direction in concert."

Her father David Bennett, 47, a chef who has his own restaurant in Edinburgh, and her mother Abbie Wallis, 34, were being comforted by relatives.

Ms Wallis was among those who left hundreds of floral tributes to the schoolgirl. Pupils and parents also lit candles at the Church of Scotland’s Liberton Northfield Church, which held a vigil in her memory.

Speaking in the Commons, David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said the accident was "absolutely shocking" and lessons must be learnt to prevent any future tragedies.

Stephen Kelly, the head teacher, said Keane was an excellent, popular pupil with a bright and bubbly personality.

He added: “She loved sport and she loved contributing to the school generally. She was most recently involved in a project planting flowers around the school. Everyone is very, very distressed.”

Images emerged yesterday showing Keane at school with friends and posing for “selfies”.

One showed her helping to raise money following the death of another pupil in December. Jamie Skinner, 13, died after collapsing during a football game.

The father of one 14-year-old boy said the first year pupils had only been in the gym changing room for a few minutes when they heard a “rumbling noise” from the wall, which screened the shower area.

He added: “Some of the girls next to it started to scream and jump back out of the way.

"The girls who were in the changing room are completely traumatised and pupils at the school are being offered counselling."

Patricia Wallis, 62, Keane’s great aunt, said: “You don’t expect your little girl to go to school and not come home that afternoon.

“Apparently Abbie got a phone call from the school. It had seemed just an ordinary day but then her whole world absolutely collapsed.” Cyprian Tarnek, 12, who was in the boys’ changing room, said: “I was shocked. Most people were crying. My friend told me that a wall collapsed on someone.”

Meanwhile, a senior minister admitted the school, built in 1958, had faced challenges and suffering “fragmenting” of the fabric of the building.

However, Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Minister, added that he did not believe there were health and safety issues at Liberton High.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: “There was storm damage a few years back that caused considerable difficulties and the incident for which the council was fined.

"But notwithstanding the difficulties with fragmenting and fraying to the fabric, it's a good school in which the head and past head have done a remarkable job in making it a very good school for the local community."

Police Scotland will lead the inquiry into the incident, with assistance from the Health and Safety Executive.

The incident on Tuesday happened weeks after the council was fined pounds8,000 for health and safety breaches after a girl at the school was seriously injured when she fell down a lift shaft.